6 | Diversified Medical Services
that injections made with contaminated sy-
ringes caused 21 million people to become
afflicted with the Hepatitis B virus, while
another two billion contracted Hepatitis
C and some 260,000 became infected with
HIV. Proper disposing, or treating, of used
needles and syringes would have eliminated
such occurrences.
American hospitals reportedly spend
more than $10 billion annually on waste
disposal. Those processes once saw materials
being relegated to a landfill or incinerated
(which poses other health issues) but in re-
cent years, emerging technology has allowed
for improved safety and improved savings
through the ability to sterilize and recycle
some materials. Autoclaves have been es-
sential to improvements. An autoclave is a
mechanism that subjects metals and plastics
to high pressure, saturated steam heated to
temperatures above 249 degrees Fahrenheit.
Over the course of more than a year of
intense research into waste disposal prob-
lems and waste solutions, Danny Mangum
acquired a clear understanding of what other
states and other nations were doing to ad-
dress the subject. He also soon learned that
South Carolina had no licensed facility for
